A tragic party in Ngara turned into a week-long nightmare for seven university students, but crucial CCTV footage has now pivoted the investigation into the death of 23-year-old Lorna Kathambi Karani, revealing her death was a devastating accident, not a crime.

The case, which gripped Nairobi and raised urgent questions about student safety, has been redirected by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) towards a public inquest. This means the seven students, who spent a week in custody at Parklands Police Station, will now testify as witnesses to help piece together the final moments of their friend's life.

Lorna, a fourth-year student at Daystar University, fell to her death from the Harmony Plaza Apartments in the early hours of Sunday, November 23, 2025. Initial reports suggested a party gone wrong, with neighbours complaining of noise and a security guard discovering her body after hearing a loud bang. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) initially treated the case as a suspected murder, arresting her seven companions who were present at the party.

A Turn in the Investigation

Investigators told a Milimani Law Courts magistrate that the new video evidence was definitive. The footage showed Lorna attempting to jump from one balcony to another, a feat another student had just completed successfully. Tragically, she lost her balance and fell from the 11th floor. A toxicology report presented in court further revealed that she was highly intoxicated at the time of the incident.

The seven students—Dennis Kariuki Gitonga, Loise Osiro, Lucy Mora, Ali Kibwana Kamaku, Precious Kendi Mutembei, Austin Ochieng, and Wendy Kerubo—were released on Monday, December 1, 2025. During a court appearance, Magistrate Dolphina Alego had pointedly questioned the students about their alcohol consumption, urging them to reflect on its consequences and the profound distress caused to their families and Lorna's loved ones.

A Sobering Reality for Students

The incident has cast a harsh light on the pressures facing university students in the city. While Lorna's death is now understood as an accident, it underscores a troubling pattern of recent student deaths under disturbing circumstances in Nairobi. This has amplified calls from student organizations for greater mental health support and improved security measures in and around student residences.

As the legal proceedings shift to an inquest, the focus moves from criminal charges to establishing the full circumstances of the tragedy. For the families involved and the wider university community, the case leaves behind a painful lesson on the fragile line between youthful celebration and irreversible loss.